Mois : avril 2016

Arcsecond.io aims at integrating all sources of astronomical data and information into a unified scheme using modern web techniques.

This is big. Really. If you jump on board, this can be huge!

If you don’t see how big it could be, imagine a world where every resource (the word is key) has a unique, simple, stateless URL. Yes. It means every object, every planet, every lightcurve, telegram, FITS file has a simple, unique URL which returns well-formated fully standard JSON/XML output, consumable by modern web techniques (like AngularJS).

It’s a kind of a super mega SIMBAD or NED services with modern tools and interfaces. And not limited to any type of data. Allowing you to concentrate on stuff that matter: the data. And not its formatting.

Imagine furthermore that your own personal resources: night log, observing runs, reduced data are accessible the same way, through usual individual and group permissions that you personally control.

Imagine even furthermore that community-curated informations is also accessible that way! This is what has been started with observing sites around the world (see below). Imagine now this list constantly updated, and enhanced by informations about domes and telescopes, and further more… instruments and detectors. All accessible freely, always the same way. A kind of scientific data-based wikipedia!

This would allow us to build a bazillion of new services and (web) apps. This is the future of arcsecond.io.

arcsecond.io is intended to full embrace the RESTful principles (that is, the modern way in the web to decouple data from its consumption). I know, there is also the VO. But… Oh well.